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Special City Council Meeting and Presentation on Labor Negotiations

September 16th, 2011

On Tuesday, September 27th, Alameda City Council will hold a special meeting to receive a presentation on labor negotiations with the City’s bargaining units. Over the past several months, the Council was criticized for granting a contract to Alameda firefighters that was negotiated even as some City Council members accepted campaign contributions from the firefighters union.

In July, Action Alameda News reported that in the first half of the year, Alameda firefighters donated $5,000 to Alameda City Councilmember Lena Tam’s City Council campaign, $2,500 to Vice-Mayor Rob Bonta’s City Council campaign, another $1,000 to Mayor Marie Gilmore’s campaign, and $2,000 to Councilmember Beverly Johnson’s campaign.

On June 21st, those same four councilmembers voted to approve a new contract with the firefighters union, IAFF Local 689.

The topics to be covered in the upcoming presentation include employees’ right to representation, the City’s duty to bargain, scope of bargaining, impasse resolution, arbitration, unfair labor practices and a review of how other cities approach labor negotiating.

The City will accept public comment on upcoming negotiations with the Management and Confidential Employees Association, the Alameda City Employee Association, the Police Officers Association (Non Sworn) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Alameda City Council has already approved new contracts for the firefighters and sworn police officers; on September 20th, they will consider an agreement between the City and the Fire Management Association.

6 comments to Special City Council Meeting and Presentation on Labor Negotiations

Now that are so committed to the contracts demanded by police and fire, it will probably bankrupt the City, the City COuncil has decided it needs to learn how to bargain with unions. Funny, BONTA works forthe City Attorney in SF, Gilmore is a Lawyer, as is Johnson. TAM needds lessons in morals, not how to negotiate with unions.

There is absolutely nothing citizens – or Council- City Manager- can do to undo that. The rest of the bargaining units, and City functions can only get the leftovers that the City Council did not already to commit to Fire and Police.

Wait! Could thnis possible be spin paid for by a newly created position of spinmeister for this ignoble bunch of crooks?

I’m confused. When this was announced by Russo @ a previous CC meeting, it was supposed to be a workshop for the public so they could better understand how to give input to staff & city on the negotiations process Early & Effectively the next time around. Instead of showing up en masse w/pitchforks, as we are wont to do. However, Russo did say that, now that he has come to Alameda, he’s given up on trying to be a reformer anymore. Or something like that. Pity. Meanwhile, while some were hoping Neldam’s would come here, we’ve lost Boniere for good! Why is this stupid town so unfriendly to BAKERIES!!!

It’s all moot anyway. The contracts that had people the most concerned – the firefighters and the police – have already been signed, after having been negotiated while 4 councilmembers took money from the firefighters union.

I guess good bakeries would rather face the crime in Oakland, than the stupidity and eventual bankruptcy of Alameda. and Chuck Corica used to call window dressing “eyewash”. It’s all the same: Meaningless tripe put forward after the fact to lessen the impact of getting screwed by the Mock Council and City Government. With every intent of repeating the same arrogant tactics again ad infinitim.